OUTREACH TO SSI, MEDICAID, AND FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS.

SEC. 155. OUTREACH TO SSI, MEDICAID, AND FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS. (a) Outreach and Application Assistance Functions of Administration on Aging.—Section 202(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 3012(a)), as amended by section 108(a), is amended— (1) in paragraph (18) by striking “and” at the end, (2) in paragraph (19) by striking the period and inserting “; and” and (3) by adding at the end the following: “(20) obtain from— “(A) the Department of Agriculture information explaining the requirements for eligibility to receive benefits under the Food Stamp Act of 1977; and “(B) the Social Security Administration information explaining the requirements for eligibility to receive supplemental security income benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act (or assistance under a State plan program under title XVI of that Act); and distribute such information, in written form, to State agencies, for redistribution to area agencies on aging, to carry out outreach activities and application assistance under section 307(a)(31).”. (b) Authorization of Appropriations.—Section 303(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3023(a)), as amended by sections 122(a) and 129(c), is amended— (1) in paragraph (1) by inserting “for purposes other than outreach activities and application assistance under section 307(a)(31)” before the period at the end, and (2) by adding at the end the following: “(3) Subject to subsection (h), there are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1989, $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1990, and such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 1991 to carry out section 306(a)(6)(P). Amounts appropriated under this subsection shall remain available until expended.”. (c) Allotment, State Miminum.—(1)(A) The first sentence of section 304(a)(1) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3024(a)(1)) is amended by striking “paragraph (2)” and inserting “paragraphs (2) and (3)”. (B) The last sentence of section 304(a)(1) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3024(a)(1)) is amended by striking “purpose or” and inserting “purposes of paragraph (8) and”. (2) Section 304(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3024(a)) is amended— (A) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4), and (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following: “(3) No State shall be allotted, from the amount appropriated pursuant to section 303(a)(3), less than $50,000 for any fiscal year.”. (d) Administrative Expenses.—Subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 304(d)(1) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3024(d)(1)) are each amended by inserting “(excluding any amount attributable to funds appropriated under section 308(a)(3))” after “amount”. (e) Outreach and Application Assistance.— (1) Area plans.—Section 306(a)(6) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3026(a)(6)), as amended by sections 127, 133, 134(b), and 135, is amended— 101 STAT. 953 (A) in subparagraph (N) by striking “and” at the end, (B) in subparagraph (O) by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”, and (C) by adding at the end the following: “(P) with funds and information received under section 307(8)(81) from the State agency— “(i) carry out activities to identify older individuals with greatest economic need who may be eligible to receive, but are not receiving, supplemental security income benefits under title XVI of the Social Security Act (or assistance under a State plan program under title XVI of that Act), medical assistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act, and benefits under the Food Stamp Act of 1977; “(ii) conduct outreach activities to inform older individuals of the requirements for eligibility to receive such assistance and such benefits; and “(iii) assist older individuals to apply for such assistance and such benefits;”. (2) State plans.—Section 807(a) of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 8027(a)), as amended by sections 130(c), 131(b), 132(c), 136(c)(3), 188, 140(c)(2), 141(c), 142, and 144(d), is amended— (A) in paragraph (20)(A) by striking “section 306(a)(2)(A)” and inserting “sections 306(a)(2)(A) and 306(a)(6)(P)”, and (B) by adding at the end the following: “(31) The plan shall provide that the State agency— “(A) from funds allotted for fiscal year 1989 under section 304(a) for part B that are attributable to the amount appropriated under section 808(a)(3), will make funds available to eligible area agencies on aging to carry out section 306(a)(6)(P) and, in distributing such funds among eligible area agencies, will give priority to area agencies on aging based on— “(i) the number of older individuals with greatest economic need (as defined in section 302(20)) residing in their respective planning and service areas; and “(ii) the inadequacy in such areas of outreach activities and application assistance of the type specified in section 306(a)(6)(P); “(B) will require, as a condition of eligibility to receive funds under this paragraph, an area agency on aging to submit an application that— “(i) describes the activities for which such funds are sought; “(ii) provides for an evaluation of such activities by the area agency; and “(iii) includes assurances that the area agency will prepare and submit to the State agency a report of the activities conducted with funds provided under this paragraph and the evaluation of such activities; “(C) will distribute to area agencies on aging— “(i) the eligibility information received under section 202(a)(20) from the Administration; and “(ii) information, in written form, explaining the requirements for eligibility to receive medical asaistance under title XIX of the Social Security Act; and 101 STAT. 954 “(D) will submit to the Commissioner a report on the evaluations required to be submitted under section 307(a)(31)(B).”. (f) Report.—Section 207 of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3018) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(c) The Commissioner shall, as part of the annual report submitted under subsection (a), prepare and submit a report on the evaluations required to be submitted under section 307(a)(31)(D), together with such recommendations as the Commissioner deems appropriate. In carrying out this subsection, the Commissioner shall consider— “(1) the number of older individuals reached through outreach activities supported under section 306(a)(6)(P); “(2) the dollar amount of the assistance and benefits received by older individuals as a result of such activities; “(3) the cost of such activities in terms of the number of individuals reached and the dollar amount described in paragraph (2); and “(4) the effect of such activities on supportive services and nutrition services furnished under title mof this Act.”. (g) Implementation Information.—Not later than September 1, 1988, the Commissioner on Aging shall— (1) analyze and compile information on successful and unsuccessful activities carried out to conduct outreach of the type described in section 306(a)(6)(P) of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as added by subsection (e), and (2) distribute such information to the State agencies on aging for dissemination to interested area agencies on aging to assist such area agencies in designing outreach activities to be carried out under section 306(a)(6)(P) o such Act. (h) Evaluation Guidelines.—The Commissioner on Aging shall issue guidelines to be followed by State agencies on aging and area agencies on aging in conducting evaluations of outreach activities carried out under section 306(a)(6)(P), of the Older Americans Act of 1965, as added by subsection (e). Such guidelines shall be designed to ensure that such evaluations are based on uniform criteria that provide a basis for the valid comparison of such outreach activities conducted by the various area agencies.